‘appy days: 6 of our favourite mobile games

The mobile gaming market is now worth a reported $11.4 billion and is set to double to nearly $24 billion by 2016. With global reach and appeal, the increasingly successful industry has clearly outgrown its 32-bit beginnings.

There are currently over 210,000 games in Apple’s App Store with 90 new submissions every day. The choice can be overwhelming. To make things easier, we’ve listed our top six (after much debate).

2048: A serious step-up from Sudoku, 2048 is as addictive as it is frustrating. Slide and accumulate multiples of two to reach the eponymous tile, all the while feeling as though you are improving your mental maths. The gameplay is slick and just difficult enough to keep you interested, but make sure you have the sound turned off – it’s a nightmare.

Candy Crush Saga: With 143 million daily users, £1.1b in revenue during 2013 and a recently launched IPO from its developer ‘King’, Candy Crush really is royalty when it comes to mobile gaming. A game with huge scope where the joy of grouping 5 in-a-row is only matched by the crushing failure of running out of lives.

Minecraft: The infinitely creative block building game – over 15.5 million copies have been bought for the PC to date, while its mobile counterpart has outstripped these sales by racking up more than 16.5 million downloads (as of December 2013). The uninhibited freedom of the games ensures that mobile players are still creating ‘jaw-dropping designs‘ from a variety of different blocks and raw materials, from wood to stone to diamond.

Dumb Ways to Die: Off the back of its massively successful viral video campaign, Dumb Ways to Die has created a mobile game of the same name, which is reportedly a favourite of Kate Moss (the Guardian).

Worms 3: This one will take you straight back to the days of Lunchables and after-school LAN parties. Dubbed “the complete Worms experience on the go” (DigitalSpy), Worms 3 for mobile features all the old favourite weapons: banana bomb, homing pigeon, old lady and of course, your trusty bazooka. Its best feature is the asynchronous online multiplayer where you can challenge other players, each taking your turn when it suits. There are also loads of other game modes, meaning there is enough content and flexibility to play for hours at a time.

Tetris: No list would be complete without the gaming stalwart that it Tetris. In the month of its 30th anniversary, Tetris is as enjoyable today as it ever was, and the mobile revamp certainly does justice to the original. It is currently even offering retro gameplay to celebrate the anniversary, an awesome throwback and great nostalgia. Aside from the classic gameplay, other modes have been added to spice the game up a bit; the frenzy and timed modes are good, and offer a modern twist on the classic. The multiplayer mode links to Facebook and different tournaments take place each week, which keeps the competition fresh.